126 replies to this topic

[Curt Rowe]

I tried the Mabel Berra from cocktaildb.com. It's:
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz Sloe Gin
1 oz Swedish Punsch

The drink was nicely balanced. There's a nice tartness from the lime, but it's not overwhelming. The punsh and sloe gin flavor combine nicely together. I'll think I'll have another.

My cousin spoke to a Swedish speaker who confirmed the u is pronounced like the oo in harpoon, not how we normally say punch. It's the only Swedish word I know, so I want to get it right.

[Curt Rowe]

I tried replacing the Sloe Gin with Cruzan Black Strap Rum in the Mabel Berra. It made a great drink

[thirtyoneknots]

I tried replacing the Sloe Gin with Cruzan Black Strap Rum in the Mabel Berra. It made a great drink

That's called a Doctor Cocktail. And yes, it's wonderful.

[Curt Rowe]

I went one more step with the Mabel Berra and added a dash of Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters. It overwhelmed the drink. Maybe just a drop of the powerful bitter might do the trick. Any other thoughts on bitters for the Mabel Berra with Black Strap Rum/Doctor Cocktail?

[Yojimbo]

Had a couple of Volstead cocktails at Clover Club today, and it turned me on, once again, to Swedish Punsch. Now that Kronan's readily available it seems like interest in making your own has waned, but is anyone still playing around with the recipes? For those who used demarara rum, I'm assuming Lemon Hart 151 would be too potent, but would mixing it 50/50 with a lower proof work? The notion of getting some of the LH funk into the Punsch is intriguing . . .

[tanstaafl2]

Last night I played around with the Have A Heart and oddly named Diki-Diki cocktails from VS&FC.

Wasn't really sure about gin and swedish punsch but I thought maybe this would be a good place for Tanqueray Rangpur which has been sitting on my shelf for a while because I am not really sure how best to use it. I thought its citrus-y characteristics might lend well to this kind of drink. So tonight it was a comparison of Have a Heart Coctails using both regular Tanq and Tanq Rangpur.



The Tanq version had a clear gin/juniper edge which was to be expected. While OK it wasn't really a taste combination that appealed to me. The punsch does kind of get lost between the gin and lime juice. The Rangpur variation seemed a bit more tart and citrus-y with less gin/juniper predominating. But perhaps that was just what I was expecting it to taste like. Overall I thought it made a better drink and will be one that I may subject friends to in the future to get additional opinions.

Then for a change of pace I gave the Diki-Diki a try. The Calvados again pretty well dominated the punsch here and I was surprised that the grapefruit juice (white and unsweetened, not pink) also was well in the background. Seemed a pretty dry drink, although that may just be my own sweet tooth, but if I try it again I might bump up the punsch to make it a 2:1:1 ratio that differs a little from the one listed in the book.

While playing with the punsch I may give the last cocktail noted in the book using punsch, the Modernista cocktail, a try. Doc Cocktail's variation on the Modern cocktail (or Modern Maid), it does indeed sound like a challenging drink.

[tanstaafl2]

I tried the Mabel Berra from cocktaildb.com. It's:
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz Sloe Gin
1 oz Swedish Punsch

The drink was nicely balanced. There's a nice tartness from the lime, but it's not overwhelming. The punsh and sloe gin flavor combine nicely together. I'll think I'll have another.

My cousin spoke to a Swedish speaker who confirmed the u is pronounced like the oo in harpoon, not how we normally say punch. It's the only Swedish word I know, so I want to get it right.

Sounds like another combo worth a try. Would like to have a few more drinks using sloe gin to add to the repertoire!